Dr. Rebecca Penh is an Executive Leadership Coach in the Learning and Leadership Division at the San Diego County Office of Education. Dr. Penh is an educator with over 20 years of experience.  Within that time she has been a classroom teacher, Resource Teacher (where she provided instructional training and support for all teachers), a school principal, and a district administrator.  This continuum of learning has led to her current work as an executive leadership coach here at the San Diego County Office of Education where she supports schools.  Her work and passion is rooted in educational equity, access and opportunities for marginalized communities.  As the Region 8 for the California Association of Asian and Pasifika Leaders in Education known as CAAPLE, she ensures that CAAPLE’s mission and vision is implemented throughout her area and members are empowered to learn, grow, collaborate and build skills to support students. 

Resources:

CAAPLE

CAAPLE Conference 2025

Ken Shelton (He/Him/His) is a highly distinguished, multi-award-winning professional and best-selling author in the field of education. He holds a Master’s degree in Education with a specific focus on Educational Technology and New Media Design and Production. His academic background is complemented by over two decades of teaching experience, with a significant part of his career devoted to shaping young minds at the Middle School level. Ken is an esteemed and highly sought-after thought leader in education, particularly in the areas of educational technology, learning experience design, and leadership development. Ken’s expertise also extends to the sphere of policy-making/policy advisement, including being a notable figure on a California State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Education Technology Task Force. 

His most recent impact in the area of AI includes supporting the development of school/district/system policy, advisement, professional development planning, and leading workshops for educators across all levels of responsibility.

He is the co-author of a best-selling book on the topic of artificial intelligence titled, “The Promises and Perils of AI in Education: Ethics and Equity Have Entered the Chat.” Ken has garnered many awards within education and educational technology. He has been recognized by the International Society for Technology in Education with two awards. Ken was the proud recipient of the Digital Equity Professional Learning Network Excellence Award in 2018 and the Making IT Happen Award in 2022 due to his extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students. 

To learn more about Ken Shelton, please visit our website at equityandesign.com

Resources:

The Promises and Perils of AI in Education: Ethics and Equity Have Entered the Chat

Website

⁠Mindful Musings Blog

Blog

LinkedIn

Instagram

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Dr. Tracey A. Benson, CEO of Tracey A. Benson Consulting and founder of the Anti-Racist Leadership Institute, received his doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Masters of School Administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has served as an assistant professor of educational leadership, high school principal, middle school vice-principal, and elementary school teacher. His research explores the vestiges of structural racism in K-12 education that continue to impede the academic success of students of color. His book, Unconscious Bias in Schools: A Developmental Approach to Exploring Race and Racism, was released with Harvard Education Press in August 2019.Resources:Anti-Racism Leadership InstituteUnconscious Bias in Schools (Book):Anti-Racism Leadership Institute Podcast: The Binary Code or Racism (Ted Talk)

Resources:

Anti-Racism Leadership Institute

Unconscious Bias in Schools (Book)

Anti-Racism Leadership Institute Podcast

The Binary Code or Racism (Ted Talk)

Dan Engel is a visionary and dynamic non-profit, social enterprise, operating, financial and investment executive who has spent the past 16 years devoted to impacting the communities in which he lives, works and operates. Dan began his professional career as an investment banker, helped build a company that was sold to Berkshire Hathaway, became a nonprofit junkie, resumed his financial career managing a single-family office and more recently specializing in the design, acquisition and management of life insurance. 

Dan is the co-founder, board member emeritus, treasurer and coach of the Miracle League of San Diego and is the co-founder, CEO and mentor of Pitch it Forward. He is also an inspirational speaker who tells stories of perseverance. Dan is a stage four metastatic melanoma survivor who is one of the earliest immunotherapy success stories in America. In its Summer 2020 issue, Cancer Health magazine named Dan to its inaugural list of 25 Change Makers. He is the author of Thriving Through Cancer – How I Conquered the Medical, Personal and Professional Impacts of Cancer. 

Resources:

MiracleLeagueofSanDiego.org

ThrivingThroughCancer.com

Linnette Castañeda is currently the Director of Educational Services for National School District.  She has served as an instructional assistant in Special Education, a teacher in elementary schools, a resource teacher, and a principal. Under her principalship, her school became recognized as a PBIS Platinum Level school.  During her leadership, she has organized the district's inaugural Back to School Resource Fair, hosted the first Secret Santa Event in collaboration with Costco Optical, and is set to launch its first 6th Grade Student Summit. This summit will prepare students for the transition to secondary school, addressing topics like peer pressure, A-G requirements, AVID, and the various opportunities available to them. She is an advocate for family engagement and community support. Her passion is uplifting families and sharing that dreams can come true if we turn our dreams into goals.

High Quality IEPs (HQ IEPs) Resource Lead Project works collaboratively within the Statewide System of Support to increase the knowledge and engagement of families and students and build the capacity of LEAs, COEs, and SELPAs so that IEP design and development will result in educational benefit. Additionally, they provide technical assistance to LEAs identified by the California Department of Education as needing targeted assistance.

Biographies:

Heather DiFede is the Executive Director for East County SELPA. She is currently serving on the IEP Expert Panel for California. Under her leadership, East County SELPA has recently administered the IEP Technical Support and Assistance (ITSA) Grant awarded by CDE and is currently serving as an Exemplar for Interagency Collaboration for the California Early Childhood Special Education Network. As a SELPA Administrator, Ms. DiFede has served as the Chair of the SELPA Administrators’ Association, and additionally is serving or has served as co-chair for the following Association Committees: Forms, CALPADS & Compliance, Local Plan, and Interagency Collaboration. She has also served on numerous statewide committees including the Dashboard Alternate School Status, College and Career Indicator for Alternate Schools, AB 2657 Restraint & Seclusion Workgroup, and the Students with Disabilities Collective. Ms. DiFede was also awarded the 2016 Special Education Administrator of the Year for California by the Association of California School Administrators.

Leo Mapagu is the Executive Director for Santa Clara County SELPAs I, II, III, IV and VII. Mr. Mapagu started his career in the Ravenswood City School District (RCSD), which placed heavy emphasis on IEP compliance and improved outcomes for underserved students with disabilities. During his tenure in RCSD, he participated in various activities to assist district administration in meeting corrective action plan and self-improvement plan requirements. Mr. Mapagu is a collaborator, as is evident by the various partnerships he has developed. He has worked with San Jose State University and Santa Clara County Office of Education’s (SCCOE) Educator Preparation Program to train teachers in a variety of special education topics. He has also partnered with Parents Helping Parents to serve as a panelist and present on special education and IEP-related topics. As a SELPA Administrator, Mr. Mapagu is serving or has served as co-chair of the following SELPA Administrators’ Association Committees: Forms, CALPADS & Compliance, Parent Engagement, Local Plan, and Related Services.

Jennifer Yales, Ed.D firmly believes that all students can learn–her passion for this belief, and a strong sense of responsibility, drive Dr. Yales in her advocacy for the development and implementation of structures and systems that facilitate learning for all students. She is a lifelong learner with over twenty years of experience as a Special Education professional. For sixteen years she worked in a large, urban school district in California, growing from a school psychologist before being promoted into an administrative leadership role within the district, ultimately advancing to the position of SELPA Director. Prior to going the HQIEP grant, Dr. Yales served as the Senior Director for the System Improvement Leads (SIL) project for five years.
Dr. Yales is certified as a Master Practitioner in Compassionate Systems and her doctoral work focused on parent perceptions of collaboration during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. As a parent of a son with autism, Dr. Yales is committed both professionally and personally to providing equitable education for all students.

Resources

High Quality IEPs

Empowering Futures Article

Eugene Hamilton, is a renowned speaker, youth advocate and educational consultant that has had the privilege of delivering more than 500 keynote presentations in over 25 U.S. States and internationally in such places as: England; Bermuda; Zimbabwe; the Virgin Islands and Canada. Currently, he serves as the Lead Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of The Eugene Hamilton Group, a professional speaking and PreK-12 education consulting firm.

Biography:

Eugene Hamilton, is a renowned speaker, youth advocate and educational consultant that has had the privilege of delivering more than 500 keynote presentations in over 25 U.S. States and internationally in such places as: England; Bermuda; Zimbabwe; the Virgin Islands and Canada. Mr. Hamilton began his career in the Everman(TX) Independent School District and most recently served as the Director of Community & Academic Partnerships at Loma Linda University in Southern California. He has received numerous awards to include: Excellence in Community Service Award from California’s 35th Congressional District and Civilian of the Year Award from the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. Currently, he serves as the Lead Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of The Eugene Hamilton Group, a professional speaking and PreK-12 education consulting firm. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Traci and 3 year old son, Justin.

Resources:

The Eugene Hamilton Group

Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade is Professor of Latina/o Studies and Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University.

Biography:

Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade is Professor of Latina/o Studies and Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University. He was a founder of the Roses in Concrete Community School, a community responsive lab school in East Oakland and has been a classroom teacher and school leader in East Oakland (CA) for the past 30 years. 

Resources:

Roses in Concrete Community School⁠

⁠TC Press Article on Culturally and Community Responsive Pedagogy⁠

⁠Harvard Ed Article on Youth Trauma and Culturally and Community Responsive Pedagogy⁠ 

⁠TED Talk on Youth Trauma and Culturally and Community Responsive Pedagogy⁠ 

⁠Interview on Equity in the Face of Inequality⁠ 

⁠Equality or Equity Full Keynote - Carnegie⁠ 

⁠Equity and Equality: Toward a Model of Community-Responsive Education (Race and Education) - Amazon ⁠

⁠Equity and Equality: Toward a Model of Community-Responsive Education (Race and Education) - Harvard Press

Jennifer Boettger is a Statewide Lead in the Open Access UDL project. The Open Access Project is funded by the California Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence as a content Lead within California's Collaborative for Educational Excellence. 

Biography:

Jennifer Boettger is a Statewide Lead in the Open Access UDL project. In the role, Jennifer works diligently to improve educational outcomes for all students by providing organizational support through her work promoting the UDL Framework and aligning initiatives that focus on creating an equitable learning environment that values culture, diversity, and community. She joined the Open Access team to lead the training and coaching efforts in UDL, which is her passion.  Jennifer is passionate about UDL Implementation…supporting site teams in learning about UDL and building the culture and practices necessary to change systems.

She is a seasoned educator, working in various roles within general and special education (Secondary English Teacher, from traditional high school, AP coursework and alternative education; Educational Specialist K-12; Instructional Coach). Her experience includes being a program specialist, statewide and national conference presenter, and UDL coach.  She believes that variability is an asset to any educational setting.

Resources:

⁠Open Access

Luisa Paningbatan, Executive Director, Whole Child and Community Design Student Services and Programs, and Erin Mahoney, Senior Director, Community Schools Whole Child and Community Design at the San Diego County Office of Education

Biographies:

Luisa Paningbatan has over 20 years of experience in education. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Whole Child and Community Design at the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) leading the regional technical assistance support for emerging and existing community schools in Imperial, Orange and San Diego counties. Prior to SDCOE, she served as Director of School Support in the NYCDOE Office of Community Schools managing a team that supports over 200 community schools in Brooklyn and the Bronx around high leverage practices to support successful implementation of the community school strategy.  Luisa also served as the Director of Teacher Recruitment in the NYCDOE Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality overseeing teacher recruitment for 1,800 schools.  Luisa participated in the Coro Leadership New York program and in Results Count, a national leadership program led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  She served as a sixth-grade English Language Arts teacher at MS 301 in the South Bronx and has worked in the Office of Community Partnerships at DC Public Schools. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a master’s degree in education from Bank Street College of Education, and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California Los Angeles.  

Dr. Erin Mahoney is the Senior Director, Community Schools, Whole Child and Community Design at the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE). She has experience as a Special Education teacher, Academic Coach, Associate Principal, Principal and as an Executive Consultant with the Equity, Disproportionality, and Design team at the South County SELPA. With her dissertation focus on social emotional learning, Erin is passionate about ensuring every student is known for their strengths, interests, fears, and dreams, and provided the specific supports they need to be successful academically and in life.

Resources:

⁠⁠Community Schools⁠